


Meaningful silences and laughs

by lunaemoth



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Black Panther (2018) Spoilers, F/M, Laughter During Sex, Post-Black Panther (2018), Power Play, Smut, Wakanda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-03-26 15:10:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13860333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaemoth/pseuds/lunaemoth
Summary: Sent as an emissary to the Jabari tribe, Ayo meets their leader, M'baku. He grows on her.“I take it you two go along well?” T’challa asked with curiosity.“She has wit,” M’baku replied.“He’s the most impudent man I have ever met,” Ayo said.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> NB: I'm french, english isn't my first language and this isn't betaed so you can expect some mistakes. If anything bothers you please send me a nice comment with the correction.

Ayo had heard Shuri’s description of the Jabari’s city, yet the throne room exceeded everything she had imagined. Nonetheless, she stayed outwardly impassive as she was brought in front of M’baku. Years of training had taught her to keep her opinion for herself.

The leader of the Jabari slouched sideway in his chair and rested his chin on his closed fist as he watched her.

Stopping at a respectable distance, Ayo crossed her arms in front of her chest in the traditional Wakandan greeting before standing to attention and waiting to be addressed. She had been briefed about the need to stay silent until spoken to. Since silence always had her favor, it wasn’t something she minded.  

M’baku waited for a few seconds before saying: “I heard you bring gifts? Well, unless you are it, they can’t be impressive.” He smirked at his own joke.

Taking this for a permission to speak, Ayo recited: “King T’challa would like to thank you and the Jabari tribe for their help against N’Jadaka’s sympathizers—”

“Yeah, yeah. Spare me the speech, show me the goods.”

Inhaling silently but deeply to calm her annoyance, Ayo pulled back the [red and black blanket jacket](https://img0.etsystatic.com/130/2/13437157/il_fullxfull.1016197338_gad2.jpg) who had been protecting her from the cold of the mountains. She opened a satchel and took out the small box it contained. Showing it to the King and his protectors, she explained: “The King’s gratitude is twofold. For your help in uniting Wakanda against a threat, the four other tribes would like to return to you what had once been unjustly taken from the Jabari.” She opened the box to show a beautiful representation of Hanuman sculpted in the sacred wood of the Jabari.

M’baku, who had leaned forward with his forearm resting on his thighs, stared for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. “That’s your gift? A toy? Are your King mocking me?”

“It has once been stolen from—”

“—from our land by a couple of idiots from the Mining Tribe who made it a trophy to toot their own horn,” he cut her with a derisive curl of his lip. “It’s a _toy_ , stolen from a kid’s playground. How mighty,” he snorted.

Breathing in slowly once again, Ayo closed the box. “I take it you don’t care about having it back.”

He raised a mocking eyebrow in answer.

A spark of cheekiness led her to ask, stony-faced: “Then I hope you won’t mind if I keep it. My niece admires it.”

M’baku guffawed and waved a hand at her. “Help yourself. Who knows? Since the kid has good tastes, she might grow to be worthy of it.”

Ayo bowed her head as she put back the box in her satchel. “I thank you for the gift, Lord M’baku. I’ll make sure she knows of its origins. Now, hopefully, you might prefer King T’challa’s personal gift, to thank you for protecting him and his kin during their time of need.” She removed a kimoyo bead from her bracelet and showed it between two fingers.

“What is it?”

“The entire medical knowledge of Wakanda as freely offered to any health provider of the country, as well as every schematics necessary to build any medical devices you may need to make use of this knowledge to its full potential. As the King is aware that the Jabari do not use vibranium, he apologizes for any adaptation issue this might cause and offer to send freely any parts or engineering support you may need to ensure the conversion to your own technology.”

M’baku had straightened with an elbow on his armchair. He thought it through for a moment before asking: “Is that a covert way to get our technology?”

“The King’s interest for your culture and the Princess’ curiosity for your technology are far from covert, My Lord. If they want to learn more about it, you’ll know.”

He hummed and opened his palm.

Ayo tossed the bead to him.

M’baku let it roll in his hand, observing it thoughtfully for a few seconds, before pocketing it. “Alright. I’ll admit, that one isn’t too bad. I was expecting some gaudy vibranium shit.” He stared at her with a more open expression than he had given her at first. “You’re Ayo, the King’s head of security right? Why did he send you?”

“The King wished to come himself, but he was held back by unexpected issues,” she explained formally. As for why it had been her: no diplomats were allowed to go in Jabari land without protection, so it had saved staff to simply send the highest Dora Milaje available and… well... “I lost a coin toss against General Okoye.”

M’baku burst into laughter, hitting his knee in his mirth. “Does this woman ever lose at anything?!” he asked when he was recovered enough to speak between chuckles.

“No,” Ayo replied dryly. She would accuse the general of cheating if she didn’t know better. Her ex was just that good and that lucky.

That sent M’baku into another laughing fit.

Ayo had to patiently wait for him to calm down.

“You better go,” he said — how he could go from full laughter to completely expressionless was rather staggering. “We are expecting strong winds on the way to the valley soon. You’d have to stay until tomorrow morning if you dawdle... or you could get frozen into an ice cube.”

“I’ll leave the monopoly of the experience to my King,” she replied with a deadpan expression.

M’baku snorted and grinned. “Yeah, you should. That would be a waste.” He gestured to one of the warriors who had brought Ayo here, a clear order to lead her back.

Ayo saluted before following her guide.

 

oOo

 

A few weeks later, when M’baku recognized the Dora Milaje who stepped forward at her King’s command, he grinned. “Did you lose a coin toss again?”

“A dice game,” Ayo replied, to King T’challa’s bafflement. It was a lie of course : she had volunteered to be part of the warriors on duty during the holy days and had been the only one left whom T’challa trusted enough for the task of guiding the Jabari in the Golden City for the festivities.

Regardless of whether or not M’baku believed it, her dry retort made him laugh.

“I take it you two go along well?” T’challa asked with curiosity.

“She has wit,” M’baku replied before gesturing toward his warriors looking at the busy streets filled with perfume, music and laughter. The festival seemed to have captured their interest. “Come on. I was promised a party!”

Ayo sighed as her charge turned around and went ahead. “He’s the most impudent man I have ever met, and I don’t look forward to him drunk,” she said to T’challa in answer to his questioning glance.

He grinned, amused by her annoyance. “You’ll do great. Think of your day off tomorrow.”

“I’ll need it,” she agreed as she followed the Jabari.

Fortunately, her worst fears didn’t come to pass. She was only here as a guide (and to smooth any conflict which may come up), and as they were mostly bent on wandering around and exploring mindlessly as they went along, they ignored her. She stayed at the back of the group, content to just be their shadow as they tried food, drinks and games.

They were loud, brash and a rowdy crowd who attracted stares and whispers as much by their behavior than by their traditional Jabari’s attire. Despite that, Ayo never had to step in as they never caused trouble, and any spark of argument was nipped in the bud by M’baku. Even after several drinks, he kept a firm hand on his men and a perfect control of his own temper — alcohol just seemed to make him more cheerful.

At eleven in the evening, Ayo was starting to think this could end without incident when M’baku called her over. Regretfully leaving her spot against a wall, she weaved through the Jabari crowd filling this part of the bar and stopped by their leader with an expectant expression.

“What’s this I hear about flirting spots? You have specific places for that?”

Ah. Of course. She was just surprised it hadn’t come up sooner. “It avoids unwanted advances,” she explained simply. “If you want to flirt, you go. If you want to be left alone, you don’t.”

M’baku smirked. “Yeah, I like it. Show us.”

“I suppose you’d prefer one near a hotel and a bar?” she asked, unperturbed. “Heterosexual, homosexual or ‘open to any experience’ spaces?”

He blinked in surprise. It was probably the first time she saw him taken aback. “You have different types?”

“Of course. There are also those saved for minors, elders, etcetera. They are meant to be safe places. There are also codes of conduct to follow.”

Some of the Jabari snorted derisively, but M’baku shrugged. “Okay, let’s go for one of those open ones, or whatever.”

The nearest one was a small square with filtered entries. Ayo asked for a colorful red necklace while the Jabari accepted the sexual protections freely offered. M’baku took note of her ornament and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“It means that I’m here as a minder, not a participant,” she explained.

“Really?” he scoffed.

“I’m on duty,” she reminded him before leaving him to find the best and quietest viewpoint of her charges.   

For another hour, it went well. Some of the Jabari left with their conquests, the rest enjoyed themselves in good company. They were brazen but not untoward (Ayo suspected M’baku had brought his best men, those he could trust not to start a diplomatic incident), which couldn’t be said of everyone else.

Ayo got distracted by a scene not far from where she stood. A man was annoying a younger woman in the shadows and wouldn’t take no for an answer. When he went too far, Ayo stepped in, catching the hand gripping a slender wrist. “Release her and leave,” she ordered.

To be inconspicuous, Ayo wasn’t wearing her Dora Milaje armor but a simple black dress. If he had recognized her as one of the prized warriors of Wakanda, the idiot might have obeyed. As it was, he didn’t listen, so she had to wring one of his fingers to make him let go. The scream of pain he released attracted attention, but Ayo stayed focus on her target. “I said, _leave_ ,” she repeated calmly.

“Are you crazy?” he shouted before trying to hit her with his unharmed hand.

Ayo gripped his arm and used his momentum to throw him over her shoulder before immobilizing him to the ground with an arm lock. “Alright. Don’t leave. Police officers are on their way,” she informed him as she activated one of her Kimoyo beads.

She met M’baku and his men’s eyes as she waited for the police. They looked assessing and appreciative. She dismissed it in favor of dealing with the victim, the police and the pervert. However, when it was done with and she was looking for another good point of view (everyone was too focused on her now, she needed to blend in with the crowd), M’baku called her over.

She stopped by the stone bench he was sitting on. When he made the same gesture again, she leaned down so she could hear what he murmured in her ear: “Are you sure you don’t want to remove that?” He touched the red necklace. When she met his eyes, his lascivious grin erased any doubt she could have on his intent.

“I’m on duty,” she repeated, hesitated for a second, and added: “until two am.”

She straightened and moved away before she could caught more than his widening smirk.

When the end of her shift arrived, the crowd had thinned and most of the Jabari had found their way to an hotel, with or without company for those previously engaged.

M’baku was currently making his way toward her with a fresh unopened bottle. He offered it to her wordlessly, and she recognized a popular brand of banana beer. If she accepted it, it would be her first alcoholic drink of the night and a clear acceptance of his advances. She was tempted to refuse and simply leave. It would be the wisest move. Tangling with the leader of the Jabari could be risky in the future.

Yet, Ayo hadn’t slept with anyone since her relationship with Okoye had ended when she had become her direct superior officer and refused to jeopardize their jobs and integrity. It had been eighteen months ago, and she needed to move on — Okoye certainly did, although her choice was questionable considering W’kabi’s recent decisions.  

As she looked up to meet M’baku watchful eyes, Ayo decided she could do worse. She accepted the bottle and opened it with the edge of her vibranium bracelet. When M’baku fingered her necklace, she tilted her head to let him remove it and throw it away.

He leaned against the wall by her side, closer to her than he had ever been, and she realized for the first time how he was towering over her despite her own height and heels. That was new. She was the tallest most often. She definitely had been with Okoye. As he leaned down to whisper in her ear, she realized she didn’t mind… at all.

“I have to admit, your people know how to party,” M’baku said, “but you distracted me.” He brushed her bare arm with the back of a finger.

Savoring her first taste of beer, Ayo didn’t look at him directly, too accustomed to watching her surroundings. “A capital offense, I’m sure. I do hope you’ll forgive me.”

“I might need some convincing.”

She looked up to meet his eyes and their noses brushed briefly. His warm breath on her cheek distracted her before she replied: “Do you? That will require time then. I’m told you’re quite stubborn.”

“So you might as well start now,” he murmured, and his hand brushed along her back, down to her hip where it settled in a light but firm touch, slowly pulling her toward him.   

She went along, taking a step closer until they were touching from shoulder to waist, their cheeks brushing. He nuzzled her ear and caressed her jaw with his lips. She shivered pleasantly at the touch but moved away.  

“Not publicly,” she whispered, making sure that they weren’t watched. No need to make their dalliance public when M’baku was such an interesting subject of gossip in the current political situation. She grasped his free hand to soften her rejection and pulled him toward one of the hotels with a direct entry on the square.

As soon as the door of a bedroom was closed behind them, M’baku caught her by the back of her thighs, lifted her and pressed her against a wall. “Is _now_ a good time? or you’d still make me wait?” he asked in her ear, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice rather than annoyance, as if he liked the anticipation.

Considering this, Ayo raised an eyebrow and shook the bottle she was carrying, while balancing herself with her free arm around his shoulders and her legs around his waist (she lost her heels in the maneuver). “Actually, I haven’t finished my beer yet.”

He guffawed and adjusted his grip on her to carry her to the bed, where he sat down and then promptly sprawled with his arms behind his head. “Wake me up when you’re done then, alright?”

She adjusted her position to be comfortably sitting on his lap, a hand spread on his stomach for balance, and sipped her beer in response. Heavy silence settled between them for a few minutes. She could feel his muscles quivering under her fingers with every breath.

He was wearing a simple light brown shirt, but she suspected that it was made of sacred wood fibers. It felt tough yet soft. Curious, she slipped her fingers under. At the touch to his bare skin, M’baku let out a deep rumble warning her that she was on a slippery road. She lengthened the caress, and he opened his eyes to give her a sultry gaze.   

One last sip and Ayo had finished her beer. She bent backward to put her bottle down on the ground. She had barely straightened when M’baku met her in a vertical position and captured her lips for a deep, demanding kiss while his hands pushed her dress higher on her thighs. “Are you trying to drive me crazy, gazelle?”

“Would you like it if I did?” she asked between a few gasps.

He chuckled, and his laughter vibrated in her own skin. His beard rubbed against her chin, but his lips were so insistently exploring hers that she couldn’t focus on anything else.  

He pushed her dress over the curve of her buttocks and went higher, but she grabbed his forearms and moved away from his tantalizing mouth to be able to breath: “Unzip first. If you break this dress, I’ll send you to find me a new one at six in the morning.”

He laughed again but obligingly went for the zip. “You could just wear my shirt,” he offered.

“Because that would be so inconspicuous,” she drawled, unimpressed.

Chuckling, he pulled the dress over her head, and she obligingly raised her arms to be left in her simple black underwear. Once the dress was thrown in a corner, M’baku seemed intent in mapping her body with his hands and her face with his lips.

Pressed against his chest, feeling his growing arousal, Ayo tugged on his shirt with one hand, scratching at his bearded jaw with the other, but an unfortunate press of his thumb on the back of her right thigh made her startle and hiss in pain.

“What is it?” he mumbled, pulling away long enough to check he hadn’t hurt her.

“An injury from the fight against the Border Tribe. It’s healed, just…”

“Sensitive?” he guessed, smoothing the pain with a broader and softer stroke.

“Yes.”

He hummed in understanding and used the break to remove his shirt. “Anything else I should know about?” he asked, not without a smug smirk at the way she admired his body — she had a weakness for broad shoulders.

“No,” she replied before pushing him back against the bed and gaining the upper hand for a kiss.

A minute later, M’baku reversed their position, but the fight for dominance pleased him, his grin widening as he growled playfully against her neck. Ayo tried to tip him over. He grabbed her wrists in one hand, held them over her head, and spread her legs with the other to press their pelvis together, leaving her no margin of maneuver and no illusion concerning his arousal.

She huffed and tried to pull her hands out of his hold, but the effort just made him chuckle and kiss her passionately. She pretended to relax into it, and then pulled as soon as he slackened slightly. She got one hand out, but he caught it back immediately with his free hand, guffawing cheerfully and pulling it to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

“Look at you, my fierce little gazelle.”

He grinned, leaning over her, resting on the elbow framing her slender neck, and leisurely moved to capture her lips. This time the kiss was slow and seductive. He put all his body into it, his thumbs caressing her skin, his chest pressing against hers and his pelvis languorously thrusting into hers.

She moaned. This time, there was nothing false in her surrender.

M’baku felt it and let out a pleased growl. “That’s it, gorgeous,” he murmured as he kissed along her neck, down her collarbone to her breasts. “I’ll take good care of you.”

She believed him.

 

o

 

It was still dark when Ayo woke up to an empty bed several hours later. The warm body pressed along her back had seemed too hot when she had drifted to sleep, but she missed it and looked up from her pillow to check if he was still around.

M’baku’s silhouette was dark against the view of the window, his profile outlined by moonlight and the soft night-lights of the city. He was standing naked, one of his forearms pressed to the glass as he observed the Golden City in softer lighting.

“Can’t sleep?” she asked, her voice deepened and softened by sleep.

He blinked, glanced over his shoulder and straightened slowly. “I don’t like your city’s noises.”

Ayo hummed in understanding, although she was pretty sure there was more to that: he was in a foreign environment, one which he would have considered hostile a few weeks ago. Sleep couldn’t come easily in those conditions.

She couldn’t be bothered to rise, but sleep wouldn’t come back to her either if he just stood out there.

“Would you prefer mine?” she offered, holding out a naked arm in invitation.

He grinned slowly and pushed away from the window. “There is no competition, gazelle.”

“Why do you insist in calling me that?” she grumbled. “I’m no prey.”

M’baku chuckled as he climbed on the bed and crawled over her. “It’s your eyes, gorgeous,” he murmured as he caressed her cheekbone, “...and those legs.”

She huffed, but didn’t protest when he stroke a warm path up her ankle to her hip. Instead, she wrapped her leg around his waist and knocked him over, causing him to curse and laugh in the same breath, before pulling her in his arms so she would straddle him.

“You want to be on top? Go ahead, be on top,” he purred, “but I always lead the dance.”

 

o

 

It was nine in the morning the next time Ayo woke up. M’baku’s warmth had vanished again. Completely dressed this time, he was sitting on the corner of the bed to put on his shoes. He glanced over his shoulder when she stirred. “Hey, gorgeous. Not in a hurry?”

“It’s my day off,” she replied while sitting up.

The windows were letting in just a little bit of sunlight, probably adjusted on morning setting by M’baku. They could see around without being dazzled.

“I wanted to ask,” he said, leaning back with a hand on the mattress to stare at her. “Your niece. Does she like the toy?”

Ayo shifted with her legs under her, pressing the sheet to her chest distractedly. “She does. She invents adventures for Hanuman and Bast — she has a plush.” At his grin, she offered impulsively (she would later blame the lack of sleep): “Do you want to see?” When he nodded, she activated one of her kimoyo beads to show an holographic image of her niece playing with her two favorite toys.

“How old is she?” M’baku asked with a soft smile.

“Five.”

“She’s cute.”

Ayo nodded in agreement, but as neither of them wanted to share anything more private, the conversation died, and M’baku stood up.

“I’ll see you later, little gazelle,” he teased before leaving without a look back.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Did you sleep with M’baku?” were the first words Okoye hissed to her when Ayo went back to work. 

Ayo hadn’t slept enough in the last two nights for this. Sleep was her favorite luxury. Why did eight hours each night was so much to ask? 

She stared at her superior officer without replying, which conveyed well enough her request for additional information.

Okoye offered the incriminating evidence by pressing one of her Kimoyo beads. An audio recording played up:

“So, did the Dora give you the time of day, boss?” a Jabari man asked, his accent clear enough. 

“That’s for me to know and for you to wonder,” M’baku replied before the audio cut.

The man was infuriating, but she was tempted to shamelessly parrot his retort to Okoye. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the superior officer in this relationship, so she had to content herself with a simple: “Yes.”

“Are you mad?” Okoye wondered with this funny expression she used when questioning someone’s sanity. Ayo used to love that face. Now that it was directed at her for the first time ever, not so much. 

“Mainly sleep-deprived, thank you for asking,” Ayo replied stone-face. She got the pleasure of seeing her own frustration mirrored in Okoye’s eyes. Working with an ex was an exercise in patience and restraint. They loved each other’s wit, but they also could easily drive each other crazy.

Throat clearing got Ayo to stand abruptly at attention and saluted her King as he stepped out of the balcony into his office. There was no doubt that he had heard everything, and that he had already been apprised of the situation. Ayo stared into space above his shoulder and waited for his judgement.

“Does this mean I should or should not bring you around M’baku?” he asked politely.

“It doesn’t change anything, your Majesty.”

“Alright… That’s good enough for me,” he accepted before going to his desk.

Ayo reported her attention to Okoye and decided she was done with the subject, preempting anything the general was getting ready to say by asking sharply: “Since when does the people we sleep with matter?”

“He’s the Jabari leader!” Okoye hissed. 

“Their recent track record is better than the Border tribe’s,” Ayo pointed out coldly. It was low, and Okoye recoiled like she had been physically hit, but it needed to be said. Ayo stood her ground. 

T’challa was watching them silently, but he didn’t step in. As he was actively trying to integrate the Jabari tribe to the rest of Wakanda, he probably agreed with the spirit of Ayo’s retort if not its wording.

Okoye dismissed her with a sharp gesture and an angry expression. Ayo saluted and left for her post. Four hours of guard duty in silence was exactly what she needed right now. Then, tonight, she was going to sleep for nine hours straight, no interruption allowed.

  


oOo

  


“I didn’t sleep enough for this,” was Ayo’s exact thought three weeks later, when she was among the Dora Milaje escorting the King to Jabari lands. 

Several Jabari warriors who had taken part in the festival eyed her speculatively at their arrival — no doubt wondering if she had slept with their leader. 

M’baku had barely looked at her, which was a good thing. However, he was apparently  in a cruel mood: he had led them on a tour of his kingdom by what Ayo suspected to be the worst paths possible. 

M’baku and T’challa were watching the valley from a small platform in the mountain, cold gusts of wind regularly blowing over them. Ayo’s hands were freezing, and ice crystals were starting to form on her eyelashes. Still, she stood her ground on the path to her King rather than trying to find some shelter. 

Stones fell from the outcrop behind her. She looked up to check it wasn’t going to come down on her, but what she found wasn’t exactly what she was expecting. Several kids had managed to climb above them, hiding between rocks to spy on the foreigners. 

Stones continued to fall from their hideout. Ayo met the worried eyes of the eldest kid, and she guessed how this was going to end: by a deadly fall.

“ Get away from here,  _ now _ ,” she ordered.

Her outburst caught the attention of the adults who hadn’t noticed them and the children who hadn’t realized they had been spotted. The eldest child, a boy around nine years old, went to comply, but a younger girl around six panicked and her movement of recoil caused the stone to crumble even more. She slipped. 

Ayo dropped her spear to soften the kid’s fall, even when it meant taking a rain of rubble over her head. She stumbled backward at the shock. The path wasn’t large and the rocks falling made it even more fragile. Ayo felt the absence of support for her heel and the rest of her foot slipping. She didn’t need people screaming her name in fear to know she was going down. 

The only thing she could do was throwing the girl into the arms of the Jabari warrior trying to reach her. 

As she tumbled, her training caught up to her and she curled into a ball, protecting her head with her arms. The free fall was short. She hit something cold and soft enough to be snow. A muffled sound filling her ears. 

She lost consciousness, surrounded by cold and darkness. 

  


Ayo woke up to sudden light and voices calling her name. She grunted but couldn’t muster much more. She felt so cold. Bast willing, she’d have a few words to say to the stupid Great Gorilla about his horrid skills as a host. 

She was pulled out of the hole she had fell in. As she blinked snow out of her eyes to watch her surroundings, she realized that she had been buried into the remains of an avalanche. Of course. Her luck hadn’t been dreadful enough, her fall had to provoke an avalanche. 

There was a blinking red light above her which indicated that her emergency beacon had activated to signal her position when it had registered that she needed help — or when Okoye had activated it, either worked. 

Jabari civilians were caring for her. They had probably been the first to reach her. Their accent was even more pronounced than the warriors, and she was too dazed to focus and try to understand what they were telling her. 

She drifted away again. 

The next time she woke up, she was bundled into blissfully warm furs and being carried in strong arms. Opening her eyes briefly was sufficient to identify her beast of burden. After several steps, M’baku lowered her on a stretcher and adjusted the furs over her. 

“ M’baku,” she mumbled before he could straighten. “The n-next time you feel l-like showing the King the worst places, I’ll k-kick you down from your damn mountains  _ myself _ ,” she hissed, stuttering due to her teeth chattering and articulating with difficulty.

The serious frown he was wearing vanished into a smirk, and his dark eyes brightened. “I’ll hold you to that, gazelle.”

  


oOo

  


Suffering from a mild hypothermia, Ayo was left in the Jabari healers’ expert hands on M’baku’s offer and T’challa’s decision, and against Okoye’s opinion.

Having commandeered every pelt in reach, Ayo didn’t have a strong opinion about her place of healing as long as she got the warmth she desired. However, she had to admit that the Jabari had some nice beverages very helpful in warming up.

That’s how M’baku found her in the evening: sitting cross-legged on a bed, covered in a mountain of multicolor furs, with only her face visible and her hands clasped around a warm cup.

He laughed at the sight. “What strange beast is this? Look, it seems to have swallowed our guest, M'tana.”

Hidden behind the giant’s leg, the little girl which Ayo had saved from a fall was peering at her curiously. When their eyes met, she tensed and gripped the hand of her father (it was obvious now, due to her name, their ressemblances and their closeness) tighter, but didn’t hide. 

M’baku pushed her forward. “Come on. You have something to say.”

M'tana squared her shoulders, took a breath and bowed. “I’m sorry I made you fall!” she blurted out with her head lowered.

“Apology accepted,” Ayo replied formally.

The girl straightened and looked appeased but not satisfied with the simple words.

“Do you want to make up for it?” 

M'tana nodded eagerly.

The Dora Milaje raised her empty cup. “I’ve been given this drink which tastes like milk, honey, chocolate and coffee. I would like more.”

The child pronounced a word, probably the name of the beverage, and bounced on her toes eagerly. “I can bring you that!” She darted forward, accepted the empty cup and ran out of the room.

M’baku stepped forward and sat on the bed’s corner.

“Cute, but undisciplined,” Ayo observed. 

“Now, don’t be too harsh with yourself,” he replied with a smirk. “Hypothermia tends to confuse the mind. I’m sure you can be forgiven for threatening the Great Gorilla in those conditions.”

Ayo sent him her most unimpressed stare. “I meant every word of it.”

M’baku burst into one of his belly laugh. “I know, and I’d like to see you try… you know, when you don’t look like a orangutan.”

This could not have been more clearly a challenge. Ayo rose to it immediately and without warning, by chucking all her pelts in his face. 

He swore and lost his balance, landing on the ground with fur in his face. After a second of surprise, he smirked and noted: “I’m not sure you thought that one through. Cold yet?”

Ayo immediately grabbed for the nearest pelt, but M’baku already had a firm grip on it. He raised a mocking eyebrow, and his smile stretched crookedly.

“Release it,” she demanded.

“I think not. If you wanted it so much, you wouldn’t have thrown it, now, would you?”

Squinting in annoyance, Ayo considered her options. She was cold, but she wasn’t in a good enough condition to win against M’baku (fighting the hypothermia was exhausting, she had been so hungry, and it felt like her heart had just resume his normal rate). In light of those circumstances, the most successful strategy was unconventional but necessary.

Ayo threw herself in M’baku’s lap and grabbed for every fur in reach, folding them over her.

Taken aback, M’baku burst into laughter a moment later. The force of his hilarity nearly knocked her off his lap, but one of his large arms went around her waist and pulled her deeper into the furry mess.

“You’re one of a kind, Ayo,” he said, sounding fond.

She raised a regal eyebrow in answer and held herself straight, dignified despite their ridiculous position.

He huffed in amusement and leant on the mattress. “Come on. Up.”

She went along with the movement, and they stood up, which was only possible because he relinquished her furs. She sat back down on the bed. He gestured for her to scoot over.

“I owe you,” he said seriously as he sat down by her side and put a hand on her knee. “You saved my daughter.”

“Pay me back my teaching her better.”

“Don’t make light of it,” he grumbled. “She and her brother are the most precious to me.”

Ayo hesitated a second before asking: “Their mother?”

“She died in an avalanche,” he admitted, looking away with a closed off expression.

She understood that the idea he could have lost his daughter in the same way must weigh on his mind.

“M'tana has been given a lecture she won’t forget anytime soon,” M’baku promised, “but I owe you, and I don’t take that lightly.”

“Very well,” she acknowledged.  

“That’s it?”

She raised an eyebrow. “What else do you want me to say?”

He watched her with his hand curled around her knee. “I don’t know, some honorable stuff about using my debt to protect Wakanda—”

“You already do.”

He grinned. “— or some romantic stuff about repaying my debt in bed…”

“Now you’re jesting,” she said with a roll of her eyes, but her lips twitched in a lopsided smile.

He laughed, but nothing more could be said before M'tana came back from her errand. The little girl was holding a full steaming cup with both hands and a focused expression.

“Thank you,” Ayo murmured as she accepted the drink. “Go in peace, dear. I do not hold my fall against you, but please be more careful in the future. What you did was reckless. You could have been badly hurt and that, more than anything, would have been a great misfortune.”

M'tana bowed, her head lowered, and the straw (possibly sprigs of sacred wood) of her headband fell in front of her eyes. She used it as a cover when she looked up bashfully. “Thank you for catching me.”

“Speak up, M'tana,” her father ordered. “You took so many risks to see the Dora Milaje. Now that you can talk to her, it’s not the time to get shy.”

Ayo raised a curious eyebrow and waited patiently for the girl to speak up.

“Please teach me to fight, ma’am!” M'tana asked, her hands joined in front of her in request.

“Do you want to become a Dora Milaje?”

“Yes!”

Having expected a denial along the line of M’tana wanting to become a warrior of her tribe, Ayo leant forward in interest. “Well then, you should apply when you’re sixteen and make sure that you are among the best warriors in your tribe to be selected. When you succeed, I’ll be among your teachers.”

“Truly?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be the best! I promise! Just you wait! I’ll be the first Jabari Dora Milaje!”

M’tana peppered Ayo with questions and enthusiastic statements for a few minutes before her father sent her to her bed.

Once they were alone, Ayo asked M’baku: “You have no issue with that? A Jabari Dora Milaje?” 

“My daughter will become whatever she wants to be,” he replied before shrugging. “And I have to admit that the Dora Milaje might be the right option for her to become the best warrior she can be. Our troops aren’t…”

“Mixed?”

“We have women,” he defended. 

“I have yet to see one,” she pointed out neutrally. 

“You have yet to see many things about the Jabari.”

“Including your most hospitable lands, so I gathered,” she remarked cheekily.

He chuckled and leaned closer. “Are you really upset with me?”

“Terribly,” she drawled with a deadpan expression.

“Now, how could I make it up to you?”

“One would wonder.”

“Could I, by any chance, kiss it better?”

“A bold choice.”

“But would it be successful?”

“It’s worth a try.”

M’baku laughed, breaking the apparent nonchalance of their foreplay, and went for her lips. She bore it with good grace, tilting her head as he straddled her lap. He cupped her face with a large hand and stroke her cheek with a thumb. 

“Let’s warm you up.”

  


oOo

  


Ayo watched the sunrise from under the arm of M’baku. Between his heat and that of the furs covering the large bed, she was too warm to get back to sleep but didn’t feel motivated to change anything to her situation. Her mind was too busy thinking through the last complications in her life to even complain about the lack of sleep.

Sleeping with M’baku wasn’t supposed to happen again. While it had been enjoyable, the circumstances weren’t supposed to allow a repeated performance. 

It was an issue, because she was getting attached — despite common sense — to this silly man, but her first priority was and would always be the Dora Milaje.

M’baku stirred behind her. His beard rubbed against her neck as he kissed the closest skin. “Morning, gorgeous.”

She hummed a greeting in return while admiring the rich hues of orange and red peaking above the mountains facing the room’s windows.

“What’s wrong?” M’baku asked.

“Nothing.”

“Do you take me for an idiot, gazelle?”

That got her out of her musing, and she glanced over her shoulder. “No.”

“Then don’t lie to me. You’re usually honest. I like that about you,” he grumbled as he sat up. “So let’s try again. What’s wrong?”

“What if I said it’s none of your business?”

He scratched his beard and shrugged. “A valid answer. I would shut up and get us breakfast. Is it? none of my business?”

Her eyes roamed over his bare chest and the curve of his back and biceps distractedly. “Our relationship… how do you define it?”

“Does it need to be defined?”

“Yes.”

“Alright then.” He leaned down and curled around her back, resting his chin on her bare shoulder. “What do you want it to be?”

“We just need to be on the same page, so there are no misunderstandings.”

“Fair enough. You didn’t answer the question.”

“I’m a Dora Milaje, loyal to Wakanda and the King. You’re the Jabari leader. Anything… serious would be complicated.”

“Yet?”

She sighed. How did this infuriating man managed to read her mind so easily when everyone told her how well guarded and reserved she was? He truly was smarter than he liked to show. “Yet, I wouldn’t mind seeing you again…” she whispered reluctantly.

He grinned and kissed her cheek. “Now, was it so hard to say?”

“Yes.”

He chuckled and nuzzled her ear. “My little gazelle. So cute.”

She recoiled. “I’m not  _ cute _ ,” she protested, offended. Of all the ways to define her, this adjective was not on the list. 

“You are. Like a porcupine,” he insisted, nuzzling her neck with an arm around her waist.

“Are you mad?” She threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him over her own body, sending him toppling down the bed onto the ground. Since he didn’t let her go, she ended up following him down into his lap and grunted in annoyance. She twisted his wrist to get him to release her, but he grabbed her around the hips with his other arm instead. 

It evolved into a mock fight, until they reached a stalemate, with her thigh around his neck, her other leg stuck under his body, and her wrist locked into his grip. As they were both completely naked, it was a rather salacious situation. M’baku’s smirk showed he was perfectly aware of it and enjoying it fully.

“You’re infuriating,” she sighed in defeat.

“You like it.”

“Bast only knows why.” 

They let go in a silent agreement and stood up. Ayo reached for a bathrobe to fend the cold off, but M’baku was comfortable in all his naked glory. He stepped forward and reached for her chin, inciting her to meet his eyes.

“Hey. I like you too, lowlander.” He pecked her lips and pulled her against him. “And I want to see you again.”

“ _Only_ me? or me and others?” she asked with a hand over his heart. When he went to reply, she added quickly: “Spare me the jokes, you know what I mean.”

He booped her nose. “You.  _ Just  _ you.”

Their breath mingled, and his lips slid to hers for a slower, deeper and longer kiss.

When she opened her eyes after having caught her breath, M’baku was observing her thoughtfully. “What?”

“Just thinking… I should personally see you back to the capital today... even back to your own bed. Can’t be too careful.”

She snorted and shook her head before smiling widely. “You did give your word to the King after all.”

“Damn right.” His hands went around her waist and he lifted her to throw her back on the mattress. She laughed freely as she landed and he jumped over her. 

“You have the most gorgeous smile,” he said as he dropped kisses all over her face. “How can anyone be so cute and gorgeous, uh? How?” 

Ayo punched him lightly in the shoulder in retaliation for calling her cute  _ again _ , but she couldn’t stop laughing at the teasing kisses and caresses. 

She supposed it was worth the loss of a few hours of sleep.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all I have planned for those two, so this is now truly the last chapter of this story. I hope you enjoyed it! =)  
> \- lunaemoth.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> Regarding the blanket to which I added a link: I'm of course referring to the beautiful Basotho blankets that Ramonda and Shuri are wearing in the mountains. When I looked for more examples, I found this [etsy shop from South Africa](https://www.etsy.com/fr/listing/468809139/manteau-de-couverture-basotho-couleur-au?ref=shop_home_active_1) selling some; that's where I took the linked picture.
> 
> I might write some more if this is appreciated, but in the meantime I hope you liked this rarepair with which my muse decided to play on a whim. =)
> 
> You can find me on lunaemoth.tumblr.com


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